A Journey
by SierraJE
Summary: After leaving Japan, and moving to South Carolina to become a nurse, Honoka's journey leads her to meet somebody she thought she would never see again.
1. Chapter 1

The music was booming, everyone around her was dancing like it was their last night to live, who knows, it could have been. Lights were flashing as laughter and screams filled the room, it felt like a magic you couldn't feel anywhere else. Of course, to the girl standing in the middle of it all, letting everything go for just that night was the only thing she needed. Tomorrow she would leave this place, and everything in it, she would go to study in America and really try to make something out of herself. But that was tomorrow; tomorrow she would leave this night behind and go to a medical school in South Carolina. Maybe she wouldn't come back here; would that be for the best? Pushing the thought to very back of her mind the girl let her ginger hair fly, and her blue eyes take in everything that was around her, trying to make this night become a memory.

The next morning, as the girl pulled her suitcase through the airport and went through security she tried to forget. She tried to push that night away from her, but once the memories started flowing, so did the tears. Both continued all the way onto the plain and up in the air. She remembered everything about anything she tried to set her mind on. Laughing with her friends, the stress of exams, eating sweets with her sister, eating lunch on the roof of the school, and the party she'd been to last night. Finally, drying her eyes with a napkin and taking a shuddering breath, this girl sternly reminded herself of what an honor it was to be accepted and that she would be able to make more fun memories while she was there. Then the exhaustion of the previous event finally caught up with her, and the girl slept.

Someone was shaking her shoulder; she sighed and blinked her eyes finding them on a flight attendant. "Excuse me ma'am, but would you mind putting away your tray table? We are about to land in America."

She nodded slowly and the attendant continued down the aisle. Finally realizing where she was, the girl jumped to the window and watched the crystal waters of the Atlantic Ocean spread hundreds of feet below her. It was so beautiful, she forgot to be sad and excitedly waited until she could leave the plane. She went over the English phrases she had to say to get to her new home. She had already been given a piece of paper with an American address for her housing, all she had to do was give it to a taxi driver and somebody would meet her at the location with further instructions. Grabbing her bags off the baggage claim and walking outside, she climbed into the next available taxi and watched the airport become a faded dot in the distance.

She was supposedly sharing a house with 2 other nurses, also from Japan, that would be at the same hospital with her, so she knew she wouldn't be alone in this situation. Once the taxi dropped her off, the girl surveyed her surroundings with interest. She already knew, the house was a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom place with all the luxuries and necessities they needed. That didn't matter to her though, what mattered to her was what was around the house, the ocean. She promised herself she would go on the beach behind the house before the end of the day. The girl cautiously proceeded, not exactly knowing how to enter the house, it technically was hers, but she also hadn't really been in it yet. After some unnecessary pondering, she settled for knocking. Brushing her ginger hair professionally behind her ears, she knocked quietly at the door.

After a few seconds, it opened revealing a woman her age, with shining amber eyes and long taupe hair wearing a casual skirt and sweater.

"Hi!" she smiled brightly, "I'm Minami Kotori, but I guess since we're in America now you can just call me Kotori." Stepping aside to let her in the house, the girl looked around until her eyes rested on the third occupant of the house, who was walking out of a bedroom. Her hair was a deep blue and it swept over her shoulders and down her back. Her eyes were the same amber as Kotori's, but had a few darker tones in them.

"Hello, you must be our newest roommate, I'm Sonada Umi, but like Kotori said earlier, you are welcome to just call me Umi."

"Thank you," the girl said smiling at the welcoming friendliness of these two people, "my name is Kousaka Honoka, but you can just refer to me as Honoka."

Stepping further inside the house and settling in. The girl sat down alone in her room. She was lucky, her two other roommates had given her a private room complete with a built in bathroom and beautiful windows facing the ocean. Looking at it she remembered what she needed to do; stepping out through the back door and across the warm sand, the girl reached the waves that were glittering in the last rays of the day's sunset. She approached until the water passed her ankles and then stopped. She felt the most secure here than anywhere else she had been today. The swirling water against her ankles gave her a sense of determination. She was going to do great things; she was going to try hard. The girl took a breath then let it out slowly, then letting go of the rest of the sadness within her Honoka went back into the house, to prepare for the next trial she would face.


	2. Her Choice

Honoka ran through the crowded urban city streets of Columbia; the capital city of South Carolina, after finally getting out of class at her university. The day had finally come that she loved the most- Friday, which meant the beginning of the weekend. The way she ran made her feel like there were wings on her back and endless life running through her veins. The heavy books and stacks of notes and assignments that occupied her pouch on her back bounced and tumbled furiously as she bounded across sidewalks and streets. It always felt so good to run, to finally forget the stresses of school and abandon all the work she still had to finish, even if it was only for a couple of days. Sure she still had weekend homework but that could always be done on Monday before class; she had gotten away with it back in high school so there shouldn't be a reason that it wouldn't work in college…. As long as she actually remembered to finish it, that is. Not having to do any school work for a couple of days was the least of her weekend joys however, it was the sea.

Honoka had tried to fall back into routine after coming to South Carolina, going to weekend parties and dancing the night away until the sun once again rose. But on the weekdays, between the long drive to and from the university out in Columbia from their quiet, content coastal neighborhood, and then schoolwork in the evenings, there was never any time for Honoka or her roommates Kotori and Umi to enjoy the waters right behind their house. That's why, instead of lavish parties, singing, and dancing that Honoka used to experience each Friday, the evenings were spent swimming in the waters or simply walking along in the tide just enjoying the feeling of having no pressing tasks; those nights were the only thing that kept Honoka going through tough university exams and times of extreme homesickness. It was spring, and each Friday night the air was warmer and more pleasant to be in. Tonight, it was so warm and appealing that Honoka simply laid down in the sand and watched the lovely sunset temper out before her eyes in gorgeous waves of scarlet, gold, and crimson. As a breeze played with the stray hairs that had escaped beneath her head pressed against the sand, her eyes began to close and after a long day and an even longer week of studying for finals, all the stress she once felt pressed her into fleeting sleep. Of course, that sleep wasn't without a dream; this one, of a closely sheltered memory.

 **XXX**

She had always been told that she would do great things, that being accepted into this school was exactly the right thing for her, that she would not regret her choice to go; but those were the opinions of those around her, not herself. Her mother owned and ran a sweet shop with the help of her father, and her little sister was still in high school still being able to enjoy the little freedoms that Honoka now dearly missed. When she received her acceptance letter to go to a prestigious university all the way in America to study in the medical field her family had celebrated her, praised her, encouraged her, nearly forcing her onto a plane destined for South Carolina. Nobody had ever asked her say in the matter, it wasn't even her dream. She wanted to study music, dance, and the arts, to experience her own creative freedom; not spent countless nights learning useless medical techniques and terms- how to stop bleeding the quickest, correct scalpel techniques- none of that mattered to her. What kept her there was the expectations of her mother, who was so proud that her eldest daughter could do what she herself couldn't, and the rest of her family who thought pushed her for success. As bitterly sad as it made her, she constantly considered just leaving it all behind and returning home, but then always looking at the disappointed faces of her family knowing that she just threw away the biggest chance she'd ever get. In essence, the dooming fear of failure was what drove her for ultimate success…..

 **XXX**

It was the chill that woke her up; as Honoka blinked as saw the sleek crescent of the moon and the splashes of stars in the dark infinity above her. Regaining more of her senses she felt a hard bet of sand beneath her and waves still crashing the beach. It might've been spring in the afternoon but temperatures still dropped low during the night. Pulling her thin jacket closer and taking a glance at her phone Honoka realized with a start that it was past midnight; Kotori and Umi must've already gone to bed by now, making it that much harder to get back into the house. Standing up, brushing the sand off her now wrinkled clothes, and stretching out her sore back, Honoka started back the sand to the back steps of porch. Walking around the porch to the front of the house and fishing her key from the pocket of her jacket, she unlocked the door and quietly pushed it open wincing when it squeaked from motion. Closing the door and quietly treading the hardwood floor Honoka reached her room and shut the door before flicking on the bright lights. From there she stripped away her sandy clothes and indulged in a long hot shower- a rare luxury with her crazy schedule. Once clean and relaxed, Honoka changed into a soft pair of pj's and sat down in front of her mirror to comb out her tangled ginger hair. It had grown a little longer since coming to America, she noted, and looked like it needed a trim. The steady rhythm of her brush coaxed her mind in to wandering, and she soon found herself pondering the dream she had. Those memories of home, but more, those memories about why she was even here in the first place. It had been really tough getting used to it there, it was still tough in fact and each day she a little closer to just giving up.

Finishing up with her hair, and nearly dropping the brush due to her shaking hands and tearing eyes, Honoka steeled herself. It wasn't what she wanted, not in the least bit, but it was already spring, it was almost time for finals. Yes, it wouldn't be easy and yes, it wasn't what she wanted from life, but it was something she just had to do, to prove not only to her family, but to herself that she could really do something with her talents, and that she wasn't just a child anymore. There would be other opportunities to be an artist she concluded, but doing this suddenly became not only a passion of her mother, but something she would keep striving for even if it killed her in the process. Honoka decided then and there- she promised herself; and it was a promise she never ever intended to break.

 **A/N: I'm not really sure if I'm going to continue on this story so please leave a review on whether or not I should keep trying with it or just start something else. Thanks for reading!**


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